题目内容
Once again, rumors are spreading.Judgement Day, this time, is set to happen on December 21st, 2012.The date originated from the Mayan calendar, but actually gained popularity through the hit movie, "2012".
How will the world end? And how do we know the exact date? There are many theories: A meteoroid from outer space; a solar storm; a shift in the earth's poles; bla bla bla.They all supposedly pointed to the date of December 21st, 2012.Unfortunately, none of it is true.
Zhu Jin, director of Beijing Planetarium, said, "For earth itself, the end will be billions of years away from now.And for us humans, there is a very small chance that we may be affected by some astronomical factors.However, we don't have the ability to foresee such events so far.So when someone tells you the world is going to end on an exact date, it must be fake."
But the truth hasn't stopped people from believing.In the sci-fi movie "2012", the director imagined the end of the world based on the Mayan calendar.The film earned nearly 770 million US dollars worldwide. Ning Hong, Hebei Province, said."The movie 2012 did get one thing right.There are arks eing made in China, But they're not being built secretly inside the mountains.They are constructed here in
the courtyard of a factory."
In April, Liu Qiyuan quit his furniture business and devoted himself to developing these huge round balls.He doesn't believe the end is near, but he wants to be prepared just in case.
Liu Qiyuan, the "Ark" builder, said, "The concept originated twenty years ago.The Tangshan earthquake had flattened our house, so I wanted to build a shelter that wouldn't fall.Then in 2004, I saw the tsunami in Indonesia that killed so many people.Then I realized it should be something that could withstand the earthquake and float on water."
Liu is hoping to use his invention as a life boat on the sea.He's planning to test his product on the water next year.
It turns out that rumour, though false, is good for business.Doomsday discounts and products are hot on many online stores.While it's surely attracted attention, many complain that it misleads consumers.
Their purpose is to promote products.If they believe the world is going to end.who would buy things? Money would be useless, too.
41.The purpose of the movie "2012" was .
A.to popularize scientific knowledge for the viewers
B.to make a profit from the viewers
C. to tell the viewers an interesting factual story
D.to warn the viewers of a disastrous event
42.The word "fake" in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to .
A.a joke B.a lie C.untrue D.terrifying
43.Liu Qiyuan quit his job and built his "ark" because _________.
A.he believed that the world was going to end on Dec.21,2012
B.he was tired of making money from his furniture business
C.he was almost killed in Indonesia in 2004
D.he wanted to make preparations for destructive natural disasters
44.Which statement is NOT true according to the passage?
A.Ruinous were created by businessmen to promote their products.
B.The movie "2012" was very popular and a great many people watched it.
C.One theory said that the earth was to shift its two poles on Dec.21,2012.
D.Liu Qiyuan's ark was intended to survive earthquakes and terrible floods.
45.We can infer from the passage that _________.
A.Tune and time again people spread rumours about the world's end for one reason or another.
B.The Maya's prediction about the world's end has failed.
C.In the movie 2012 big arks were built secretly inside the mountains
D.Liu Qiyuan was bom before 1976 and is at least 36 years old.
BCDAC
New York has taken the title of the world’s top fashion capital from Milan. The annual survey suggest that the top five fashion cities are facing competition from Asia and Australia. New York had been the top fashion city for five years, but Milan took the title in 2009. The survey was made by the Global Language Monitor, a US based organization. It tracks the frequency(频率) of words and phrases in the media, on the Internet and throughout the blog. With the US economy recovering, New York once again took the top title. Hong Kong took second place. It was followed by London, Paris and Los Angeles. The other top 10 cities were Milan, Sydney, Miami, Barcelona and Madrid.
“Because of the new economic situation, the global fashion centers have also changed a lot, ”said Bekka Payack. the Manhattan-based fashion reporter for the Global Language Monitor. “The new list shows that global fashion centers will change now and then. Compared with the traditional fashion cities, some new ones are performing better and better. ”She said that perhaps this is new trend, and it is the first sign that the traditional top five fashion cities——New York, Paris, London, Milan, and Rome——do not control global fashion any more.
The biggest changes in the list are Hong Kong, Madrid and Melbourne. The Group said that the top newcomers to the list include Amsterdam at number 17, Cape Town at 23, Johannesburg at 25 and Vienna at 27.
The following are the 10 top fashion cities of 2010 and the changes from 2009.
1. New York(up 1) 2. Hong Kong(up 5)
3. London(up 2) 4. Paris(down 1)
5. Los Angeles(up 1) 6. Milan(down 5)
7. Sydney(up 2) 8. Miami(up 5)
9. Barcelona(up 5) 10. Madrid(up 11)
1.New York has regained the title of the world’s top fashion capital mainly because __________.
A.the US economy has been recovering |
B.Milan faced competition from other cities |
C.few big cities took part in the competition |
D.the survey was made by an American organization |
2.Compared with the 2009 list, which of the following has the greatest change?
A.Hong Kong |
B.Milan |
C.Madrid |
D.Barcelona |
3.We can infer from the text that __________.
A.New York has lost the top title several times |
B.all the traditional fashion cities are in the 2010 list |
C.economic situations influence global fashion centers |
D.new fashion cities have performed better than traditional ones |
4.The text is probably taken from a __________.
A.science report |
B.fashion magazine |
C.geography textbook |
D.history book |